Choosing POV

There's so much to consider when planning (and writing) a novel. Or a short story. Or anything, really.

Of the many things you have to decide on Point of View is just one thing, but it can be foundational. Not only which POV but how many you use. 

Will you write within first person, second person, or third person? Will you stick with one person's POV or will you jump around between multiple different ones?

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What are the different point of views?

- First Person: This point of view is when the narrator is telling the story from his or her viewpoint. It is easy to identify because the author uses "I" and "Me" and those sort of key words. 

     Some popular examples of first person POVs are as follows:

           - Divergent Series (Veronica Roth)

           - Red Queen Series (Victoria Aveyard)

           - Hunger Games Series (Suzanne Collins)

           - Assassin's Apprentice (Robin Hobb)

           - Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)

-Second Person: This Point of view is when the narrator is telling a story to the audience as though the audience is the main character. "You did this, you went to this place." I can't say I've ever read a novel from this POV, but with that said, many of the "chapter" or "episodic" apps on the phone are in this POV. It's almost as though you have amnesia and someone is trying to catch you up on your life.

      Popular examples of second person POV (according you goodreads) are as follows:
             - You (Caroline Kepnes)

             - If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (Italo Calvino)

             - Bright Lights, Big City (Jay McInerney)

             - The Fifth Season (N.K. Jemisin)

             - The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern)

-Third Person: Third person is where the narrator is telling the story as an outsider looking in. Words such as "he" and "she" and "they" are common. This POV can be split even further.

     1) Third Person Omniscient: This point of view is where you can see into the head of any character. You (and the Narrator) are all-knowing. 

              -The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne)

              - The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)

     2) Third Person Limited: If Omniscient means all-knowing, limited is as it sounds. You can still see into people's heads, but it is limited to one or a few characters.

               - All Souls' Trilogy (Deborah Harkness - I'm not sure if her newest book Time's Convert is in the same POV)

               - Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)

              

How to decide on Point of View?

There are a couple things to really consider when trying to figure out which point of view you want to go with.

1.) Other novels in your genre: There are some genres that do better with certain POVs. By do better, I mean that are more popular POVs in certain genres. 

      - First Person is popular within Young adult. With Third Person Limited very close behind.

2.) How much do your readers need to know? This is important because the different Points of view each give a different amount of knowledge. First person gives it directly from inside one persons head. Third person limited can give you more outward knowledge and third person omniscient gives you everything. 

Other factors:

- How many Points of view? This is the question that tends to bog people down. It's a common question on different writing groups I'm a member of. I would say use as few as is required. The more POVs, the more likely the reader is to get confused. 

      As much as I liked the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard (Seriously, read it if you haven't: Red Queen, Glass Sword, King's Cage, and her latest and last in the series War Storm), by the final book, I felt as though she was using way too many POVs. I didn't need to see inside the head of Maven or Iris. Three would have been a nice number to stick it with, rather than five.

- How to choose who to have a POV? The first step to deciding how many points of view you should have is deciding who you want to focus on. The most important thing to remember is who you decide to show as the POV characters will likely connect with the readers moreso than any others. Be careful to only show those you want the reader to connect with. 

With all of this said, remember it is your story. Do what you want. Everyone will have an opinion of what you're writing, be it good or bad. 

Is there anything that helps you decide on what POV to use in your writing? Comment below!

Until Next Time,

Shelby

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